Jericho, Tuckers 03, Going To Town
by JT-of-JFF
Summary: From JerichoFanFiction; Beth Tucker and Lora Lawter take the latest innocent into town.
1. Chapter 1

**SUMMARY: Beth Tucker and Lora Lawter take their latest innocent into town.**

**WARNINGS: ADULT SITUATIONS, DESCRIPTIONS OF ABUSE**

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am labeling this MRO, but it is not pornographic. I'm going to start telling a abused girl's story. Even the inferences can be disturbing. It is not for children. One day I may go into detail, but I can't bring myself to write that story yet.

--  
FEEDBACK POLICY: Whether it is myself or any other author I encourage you to register and leave feedback. It encourages and rewards you and the author. It moves stories that you like back up where people can read them. Constructive comments encourage the writers by letting them know what you liked and disliked. In my case, it allowed audience participation in the writing process. Everybody benefits from good feedback.

DISCLAIMER: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following stories are works of fan fiction intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.  
**--  
TITLE: Tuckers-Going To Town-Chapter 1 of 3–MRO-Mature Readers Only  
AKA:**

STORY TYPE: Complements Episodes with Alternate Characters  
TIMELINE: 200X1204 (Bombs+65)  
EPISODE GUIDE: after (1-14)Heart of Winter, before (1-15)Semper Fidelis  
TUCKERS GUIDE: after Meet The Tuckers  
--

Beth and Lora drove their carts into town state highway 40, which turned into Berge Street. They couldn't get lost since town hall was only a right and a left from the Tucker's farm. Where Berg met Mott Avenue there was signs pointing south down Mott;

'FEMA CAMPS'  
'ALL REFUGEE TRAFFIC --'

Occasionally a car would pass them. There were people on the street, but they were standing around talking. No one seemed to be going anywhere or doing anything with a purpose. Except for the deputies, no one seemed to be armed. The home patrol must be out at the Tacoma bridge because none of them were in town.

The deputies stayed in the Town Hall most of the time. Since the sheriff was dead and no one else had assumed the position, there was no leadership. They really became errand boys once Gray won the election.

The Tuckers had talked it over with Johnston Green before. Johnston wanted to do something about the deputies but never had the time to do it. He couldn't promote from within the ranks and no one had the time to take over Sheriff as a fulltime position. Johnston had asked John Tucker if he was interested, but the Tucker family and farm were outside of town. John really thought he could do more for the town keeping the farm going. Given recent events, maybe it was time to reconsider.

With a wave of their hands, the ladies separated. Lora Lawter headed for the Medical Center with Ann. Beth Tucker and the kids turned into the park behind Town Hall.

Behind Town Hall was the community's major park. It ran the full length of the block and included a small play area for the kids. Beth guided the cart up a maintenance drive and brought the horses to a stop on the right side of Town Hall. Here a hitching post had been set up within sight of the deputies inside.  
Across Spruce Lane was the trading market in Gracie's parking lot. Everyone that traded had agreed to meet here on Mondays and Thursdays. At first, the traders riled Gracie, but soon she realized it complemented her business. It had been a week since she had been found dead. Dale had taken over the store, but otherwise nothing had changed. The rule of thumb was to take parking spaces from the back of the lot forward. That way Gracie's entrance was left open.

The Tuckers didn't come to town a lot, but as a rule they tried to make it on Mondays. The rest of the week, they would work the farm and work salvage the best they could. The truth was they just didn't have much use for the town as it stood now.

Her first stop was always Town Hall. The children stayed in tow as she took a shopping bag up the steps. Inside she could always count on Jimmy Taylor to be at the front desk. He was one of the truly nice people in town. At times, he might be over his head, but everything he did was from the heart.

At the sight of Beth Tucker and her kids, Jimmy smiled broadly. "Good Morning Mrs. Tucker."

"Good Morning, Jimmy. How is everything?"

"Well Mayor Anderson has us ..." Jimmy started.

Beth Tucker cut him off. "Jimmy, you know I could care less about Gray. How are your wife and the kids?"

Jimmy smiled again and let Beth know that everyone was doing well.

"Well with you here at work, we figured your family could use some help." Jimmy looked in the bag. He saw potatoes, apples and loaves of bread.

"Mrs. Tucker, I can't take this."

"Yes you can. You do your job every day and you do it well. Your family shouldn't go without. Last week Mayor Green would have given you this, but he's not here today. Either way it comes from the same garden."

Jimmy Tucker remembered the baskets and boxes the Greens had brought in for the Deputies. They always assumed it was from the Town's rations. He never thought it might come from the Tuckers. "Mrs. Tucker, this is too much."

"Then share it as you see fit, but please don't tell anyone where its from. You know we prefer our privacy."

Jimmy understood all too well. He had served several writs this past weekend on farms Mayor Anderson found to be hoarding food. It didn't make sense to him. The farmers had been giving regularly to the food bank in town. In fact, they had been quite generous. The problem is that Anderson insisted that they take everything in the silos. That meant the farms wouldn't have grain to seed come spring time. They wouldn't be able to plant anything. The other problem is that every surge in food lead to demands for greater rations. Instead of rationing for the long haul, a lot of food was being given out as if there the government was going to show up any day.

"I understand perfectly."

"Thank you Jimmy, and give our best to your family. Please keep an eye on our cart if you could."

"Yes Ma'm. No one will bother it or the horses."

John and Beth Tucker had discussed giving the food directly to Jimmy Taylor. They wanted to help the people working with the town, but Gray Anderson made that very difficult. The man was a small town politician but not a leader or an administrator like Johnston Green had been. His stay on town council had been complements of a few friends of his at the mine and his election to mayor, the result of a mob mentality at the polls.

While Beth started touring the dozen stalls at the market, Lora Lawter made her way through town and stopped the horses outside the medical center. "Now Ann, we're going to see a friend of mine. She needs to take a look at your cuts and bruises. We want to make sure you'll get better soon." Ann just nodded her head.

Lora tied the horses up to a column and asked the volunteer at the front desk to watch the cart and horses for her. She took one shopping bag herself and gave the other to Ann. They carried them past the front desk and into the urgent care area.

The medical center had never really had an ER. There wasn't enough of a need. If someone got hurt badly, the urgent care staff would stabilize the patient and call for a helicopter. Now they did everything. At the top of the staff was April Green. There had been another doctor after the bombs, but he had packed up his family and headed south. That left April and a few nurses as the entire med center staff. Everyone else was a volunteer.

Walking through the urgent care, Lora saw Gail Green managing the in-patients. Gail had been a nurse many years ago and remembered enough to be helpful. She was also a mother figure to the whole staff splitting her time between her family and the medical center.

"Good morning Gail."

"Lora. Who do we have here?"

"This is Ann. Beth and John found her on one of their rides."

Gail Green understood the reference. The Tuckers and Lawters shared the surpluses from their salvage trips outside the town with the Greens who stayed inside the town. The Greens then made sure that the town staff and those in need got a little extra. It was the best they could do since they weren't being paid anymore and their responsibilities in town kept them from doing much for themselves.

"Well what can we do for you?" Gail knelt down and looked into the girls eyes. Ann looked at first, but then melted away a little.

Lora answered for her, "Well she just needs to get a little check up. She's had a hard time lately."

Gail looked up at Lora and received a look that told her the full meaning. It wasn't uncommon these days for refugees to be abused. The things done to adults were horrible but the things done to children were unspeakable.

"And before we forget, these are for you." Lora handed the shopping bag she was carrying to Gail. "And this one is for April." Gail took the bags and set them on the counter. "Just be careful. There are eggs in there."

Gail's eyes didn't light up the same way someone else's might have. Gail appreciated everything but in her case the groceries reminded her of all the things she felt she should be doing for her family. She worried most for her daughter-in-law that was pregnant. This was going to be her first grandchild and all the odds were against it.

She was here because April was here. These last few nights April only left because Gail forced her to go home to her and Johnston's house. The stress of all her patients would be grueling to a healthy person, and April was far from healthy. The patients she lost were particularly hard, but there was nothing that could be done. Yesterday she lost the Grint's youngest girl. She fell into a coma and passed because the insulin had run out. April had insisted on staying here the whole time as if there was something she could do.

"Thank you so much. I can't thank you enough for that chicken at Thanksgiving."

"There's no need. You know these are extra. We would rather someone benefit from them instead of letting them rot. Giving them to Mary Bailey would be an example of letting them rot." Both women smiled at the reference. It would have been funny in some other time, but now it had double and triple meanings.

"Lora, I hate to ask you for more, but…"

Before Gail could finished the sentence Lora cut her off. "Just ask."

"Do you have any red meats out at the farm. I wouldn't ask but …"

"But April is pregnant. We know. In the bottom of April's bag are some vitamins including iron and folic acid. We couldn't find any actual prenatal vitamins, but I think Beth put together a good approximation. We also included some spinach. It looks funny but that's because its one of the gourmet varieties. There are also jars of pickles and peanut butter."

This time Gail's eyes lit up. "You're kidding."

"Nope. It's a mommy care package. Beth put it together herself. After three kids she should know what to pack." This was Lora's turn to smile. It felt good to help others. It's a feeling many people in this century have forgotten. With generation 'ME' in full swing, it's a wonder anyone in this town helped one another, but there were pockets of people that understood. Lora looked back at Gail and saw she was about to cry.

"And we'll see if any of the cattle are ready to go up. I think its cold enough now, that it might be worth it."

"Thank You so much. Now lets see about little Ann here."

She led them into the examination rooms and settled Lora and Ann in while she looked for April. The exam rooms were really nice, if a little dark.

If all the lights were on that is. Someone had gone through and unscrewed every other light bulb. The generator was still running, but it couldn't handle the whole building at full power. Even if it did, there wasn't fuel for it. The Tucker's had fuel set aside for the med center, but they wanted to leave it for an emergency.

Lora thought dryly to herself, 'If the town got a hold of the extra fuel now, they might double the hours at the bar.'

Just then, April pops in the door with her best smile on. Lora looked at her and she could see the wrinkles. April was trying to be superwoman and it was wearing her down.

"And I hear we have a new friend in town. How are you doing today?" April smiled broadly at Ann, but Ann's gaze centered on the ground. April reached under her chin and pulled it up a little. "Are you doing OK today?"

"Yes ma'm."

"Well we're going to give you a little check up. We'll take some blood and run a few tests. Can you go ahead and change into this gown for me? I promise it will make everything easier."

Ann took the gown and went into the corner of the room. She didn't seem modest at all. As she faced the corner, she took off her clothes, letting them fall to the ground. As she reached for the gown, she saw the expressions on April and Lora's faces. Ann looked at them and shrugged her shoulders, "I learned to just do what they told me."

Lora was horrified. She tried to keep her composure, but just couldn't. She was starting to cry and she knew it. While Ann pulled the gown on, the open back still exposed the welts and scars. Some were fresh but others had already healed. They started at her shoulder blades and covered her back down to her buttocks. Some were bright red while others were covered in brown scabs. One or two welts showed signs of infection. The largest area left unmarked was the size of Lora's palm.

April had seen abuse several times but never like this. From experience, she knew what else she was going to find. She gave the young girl a quick check of the lungs and heart. Luckily there were no abnormalities. The same was true for her temperature. That meant that while some wounds were infected they hadn't caused a systemic reaction yet.

Since the girl seemed resigned to the wounds on her back, she had the girl lay down for a pelvic exam. Laying down caused the girl to wince. Once she was comfortable, April lifted her legs gingerly into the stirrups. The exam was quick.

Once she was done, she went over to the sink and disinfected the gloves. She would need them again later.

She turned around and faced her patient. "Ann, you've had a very hard time… You've been used in very bad ways. Miss Lawter here is going to make sure this never happens to you again. She and I are going to do our best to let you heal and to take care of you."

Ann looked up at April. April wasn't sure how much the girl would understand, but in this day and age she needed to hear everything. She needed to be treated like an adult. She would never be a little girl again.

"We can take care of the wounds on you back. The scars will never go away, but we can make them better. We have some ice outside. We'll use it to numb the areas around the infections and dress the wounds."

Ann just nodded to her.

"As for your other wounds... If I could, I would put in some stitches. The discomfort you feel is because your womanhood has been stretched and torn. The same is true for your bottom. The problem is I don't have an anesthetic I can use. I would rather wait and see how they heal."

"You do not need to worry about being pregnant, but we do need to check for illnesses. I only have tests for a few of them, but it should give us an idea."

"Lora, do you remember that veterinary antibiotic you brought us a few weeks ago."

"Yes"

"If you still have any, give her this dosage for ten days." April scribbled the prescription on the page from a magazine. "If you find anything better let me know right away."

"If you have somewhere you need to be, she'll be safe here with us. It will take a few hours to dress the wounds on her back and to run bloodwork."

Lora looked up at Ann and took her hand. She kept looking at Ann as she answered April, "No. I've nowhere more important than here. I'm going to stick with her." She squeezed Ann's hand a little harder and then relaxed.


	2. Chapter 2

**SUMMARY: A continuing story Beth Tucker and Lora Lawter. This time Beth is caught off guard and is a little too honest.**

**WARNINGS: PROFANITY**

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some references to an old John Wayne movie, 'The Quiet Man.' It's a little overblown, but I'm having fun with it. I know there are some timing issues, but I like the story more than an accurate time line.

FEEDBACK POLICY: Whether it is myself or any other author I encourage you to register and leave feedback. It encourages and rewards you and the author. It moves stories that you like back up where people can read them. Constructive comments encourage the writers by letting them know what you liked and disliked. In my case, it allowed audience participation in the writing process. Everybody benefits from good feedback.

DISCLAIMER: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following stories are works of fan fiction intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.  
**--  
TITLE: Tuckers-Going To Town-Chapter 2 of 3  
AKA:**

STORY TYPE: Complements Episodes with Alternate Characters  
TIMELINE: 200X1204 (Bombs+65)  
EPISODE GUIDE: after (1-14)Heart of Winter, before (1-15)Semper Fidelis  
TUCKERS GUIDE: after Meet The Tuckers  
--

Beth started touring the dozen stalls at the market while Lora Lawter was at the Medical Clinic. Beth was looking for the little things the Tuckers were missing. To be honest, there wasn't much they couldn't salvage, but one day even that would run out. In the meantime, she way able to help some people that were down on their luck. She would never set foot in Gracie's Market, but out here in the parking lot she walked past seller after seller. Occasionally she would make a deal for something the Tuckers needed. Other times, she traded for things the people needed.

Pride is a powerful force. There were some people in town who wouldn't accept charity. Most of them were from an older generation, but in Beth's opinion, their pride shouldn't keep them from getting the food they needed. In one space was Paul Gint. She has been a substitute teacher for his daughter on several occasions. Her son Andrew had pointed him out, because his daughter was sick in the clinic. His daughter was diabetic and they were trying to ration the last of the insulin for her.

The Tuckers had looked for insulin when they went outside of town, but the problem had been the power outages. Insulin has to be refrigerated and every bottle they found was spoiled. They even tried to find some at Blackjack, but there wasn't any to be had.

Beth knew that Paul's daughter was going to die. There was just no way around it. For him to be here at the market, meant the family was in desperate need. It made sense since he had been at the clinic with his daughter for the last week.

Beth looked down at the things he was selling. It was a mix of pens, paper and an old manual typewriter. "Oh Paul, this is just what we need at the clinic or if we're ever to get the school going again. What are you asking for the whole lot."

He look up at her, "I was hoping to get some fresh food for my wife. We're using the Town's rations, but she really can't digest the corn."

"Well, I think we can do some business today. I hope it's a fair trade." Turning to her son, "Andrew, go get the bag left for Mr. Gint. While you're over there, take my coat back to the cart. Its getting warm today."

Andrew ran across the street. He put his mother's coat over the seat and came back with a shopping bag. "Paul I think you can stretch this out for a while. I hope its enough for what you have here." Beth nodded to Andrew and he handed the bag to Mr. Gint.

Inside he saw two loaves of bread, onions and potatoes. He looked up at Beth Tucker. "Are you sure?"

"Yes sir. I have a small garden out back. We have enough to get by. This is extra."

"My wife will be very happy. Thank You."

"It's a fair trade, Paul. Could I ask one favor? Do you mind taking this to Gail the next time you visit your daughter?"

Paul Gint, looked up from where he was sitting on the pavement and shook his head. "We lost her."

"Oh Paul, I am so sorry. Never mind these things; I will get them up there. You take this back to your wife. I am so sorry."

"No ma'm. We made a fair deal and its only right to delivery it for you. I won't take no for an answer." With that, he thanked her again and loaded everything in a wheelbarrow. He turned, thanked her again and headed up the street.

Beth Tucker was through with the market. Her shopping bags were gone, but she still had two cases of potatoes to take to the food bank at the church. As she started to turn, a voice commanded her to "STOP".

She looked to her left and right. She had all three children in her view and all of them were to her front. Who ever it was had stopped about five feet behind her. The command was repeated again, but was in a slightly higher octave. "Stop Mrs. Tucker."

"Deputy Bill Erickson… what bug have you got going?" Beth slowly started to turn around.

"Mrs. Tucker. That's a pistol on your hip."

"Well that's very astute of you Bill. You know darn well I have a permit to carry this. You were there when the Sheriff signed it."

Beth had forgotten she carried the Glock on her hip. In the past months it had become second nature to her. Normally concealed, she had been foolish when she had taken her Jacket off.

Bill Erikson was deputy only because Jericho was a small town with a small budget. The Sheriff had several very good deputies, but then he also had a couple who manned the office while everyone else was out patrolling. Bill was in charge of the coffee. He was a modern cousin to Barney Fief who never did quite explain how he ended up duct taped in the trunk on his patrol car.

"Mrs. Tucker, I'm going to have to disarm you."

"The Hell you say?"

"Mrs. Tucker, After Gracie was murdered; Mayor Anderson ordered that no one was to carry arms in the town." With that, he reached for her gun. It was not a wise decision.

Beth Tucker was not a black belt in martial arts, but after four years at the county YMCA, she was a brown belt. She began taking the classes as away to maintain her flexibility and later to take off her pregnancy weight. She started before conceiving Andrew, but took a break because of the pregnancy. After Emma was born, she started training again with a vengeance. She tested straight through several belts. About the time she was working on her black belt, they moved to Jericho. One of the compromises meant giving up her formal training.

Bill was right handed. Beth was a leftie. This meant that he was reaching onto her strong side. She caught him off guard by reaching straight forward with her left hand. Before he could pull his hand back she grasped it, twisted the wrist left and pulled hard. Suddenly Bill found himself off balance and falling fast. She twisted her body to the left while her right hand grazed his chin and pushed behind his ear. All hope Bill had of not hitting the ground were gone. He had just enough time to think, 'This is going to hurt.'

Instinctively, he tried to land on his back. In training, Beth would have let him down softly on the mat, but now she was pissed. She raised up her right knee and followed him to the ground. A half second after the ground pushed the air from his lungs, her knee impacted into his groin.

Her brothers had once explained a kick to groin as a bright white light followed by the most excruciating pain possible. Bill looked as if he had seen the light.

Unfortunately, Beth was seeing a bright red light. She stood up, leaving Deputy Bill writhing on the ground. She looked to see that her kids were all right, then made a bee line for the steps of town hall.

Jimmy Taylor looked out the window to see what the commotion was. It didn't take a second to see Bill on the ground and Mrs. Tucker coming straight for the stairs. Jimmy had seen that look before… not from his wife, but from his mother. He might not be twelve years old any more but he knew when to step out of the way and let someone else take the heat; "MAYOR ANDERSON, there's a citizen coming in with a complaint."

Andrew and Emma had never seen this look before. All they could do was grab hold of their younger brother and follow. They threw looks at each other, but both shrugged their shoulders. After a moment, Andrew had a revelation. He had seen this look before, but it wasn't his mother. It was that big guy in that old movie mom and dad watched; 'The Quiet Man.' He just didn't know who his mother was going to fight.

Beth Tucker pushed the doors open hard enough to crack the glass. A small crowd followed the Tucker kids in behind her. "Jimmy… Is that ass in there?" Jimmy just nodded his head as Mayor Gray Anderson had the unfortunate timing of walking out of his office.

The first thing he received was a stiff jab in the chest. "WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING HAVING YOUR DEPUTIES COMING AFTER CITIZENS IN THE STREETS! I come into town with my children to donate to the food bank and you send Bill to disarm me. Are going you or deputy Fife going to protect me? Somehow I sincerely doubt you can cover your own ass much less protect someone else's!! I swear to God, if you ever mess with me or my family again, you'll be the one I leave laying on the ground."

Meanwhile Gray Anderson did not know what storm he had walked into. He has no idea what was going on. He was completely speechless.

Beth Tucker was full of adrenaline. She could take on an army, but the pathetically clueless look on Gray's face took the wind out of her sails.

She stops and realizes there is no point in going farther. Another moment and she realizes she has assaulted a police officer and a town official. She had better call it a day.

As she turns around, she sees the crowd surrounding her kids. Now she's just embarrassed she let it happen. She walks over to the kids and politely says, "Kids… its time to go. Get your things."

Jimmy is left flabbergasted as Beth Tucker walks out the front door with her kids.

Lora Lawter is just pulling up in her cart as two people help Bill Erickson off the ground. To her right she sees Beth and the kids exit town hall. She pops the reins and steers the horses over to meet Beth at her cart. As she does she notices a half dozen people exiting the town hall. Mayor Anderson comes out the doors, but stops at the top of the stairs.

It takes a moment for Beth and Lora to converge, but the look on Lora's face asks the question Beth is too embarrassed to answer. "Not now. Could we please just go home?"

With that, Beth loaded up the kids and turned the cart for home.


	3. Chapter 3

**SUMMARY: A continuing story with Beth Tucker and Lora Lawter. When Beth screws up there are consequences**

**WARNINGS: PROFANITY**

AUTHORS NOTE: What happens if good people do nothing?

--  
FEEDBACK POLICY: Whether it is myself or any other author I encourage you to register and leave feedback. It encourages and rewards you and the author. It moves stories that you like back up where people can read them. Constructive comments encourage the writers by letting them know what you liked and disliked. In my case, it allowed audience participation in the writing process. Everybody benefits from good feedback.

DISCLAIMER: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following stories are works of fan fiction intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.  
**--  
TITLE: Tuckers-Going To Town-Chapter 2 of 3  
AKA:**

STORY TYPE: Complements Episodes with Alternate Characters  
TIMELINE: 200X1204 (Bombs+65)  
EPISODE GUIDE: after (1-14)Heart of Winter, before (1-15)Semper Fidelis  
TUCKERS GUIDE: after Meet The Tuckers  
--

Beth Tucker and Lora Lawter drove their horse drawn carts into the drive for their shared farms. With them were the Tucker children and a guest; Andrew, Emma, Sammy and Ann.

Beth Tucker was not having a good day. By most accounts she had just committed several felonies. She had assaulted a police officer and the town's elected mayor after openly carrying a weapon that was supposed to be concealed. She was embarrassed and angry with herself.

Beth steered the horse near the hitching post in front of the Lawter house. She noticed for the first time, that the horses had worked up a sweat. In this weather it was an accomplishment not to be overlooked. It was also a demonstration of how distracted Beth had been on the trip back from town. She had pushed the horses too hard. She was surprised Lora hadn't said something, but Beth had also been rather curt when they left town. Lora didn't even know the full story yet.

Not cooling the horses down properly would cause illness. That would just make a bad day worse. They needed to be cooled down and brushed before being turned into their stalls.

The men of the family appeared, not from the Lawter house, but from the Turner's house. They were halfway across the drive, when Andrew Tucker jumped from the cart and ran for his father. "DAD… you won't believe it! Mom was so cool! She just took Bill down and went after Mayor Anderson!!"

All hope Beth had for thinking this over and breaking it to John slowly evaporated. This day was just getting worse. She loved her son dearly, but right now she did not like him.

"Bethany, what's going on?"

Beth thought, 'Oh God, he's calling me Bethany. That's just not good.'

"John, we need to talk. Saun. Lora. All of us, but first the horses need to be cooled off and turned in." It wouldn't buy her much time, but it might be enough.

"Andrew, Emma."

"Yes, Sir."

"Why don't you show Ann how to turn in the horses. Cool them down for no less than 10 minutes. They've been run into a sweat. Take them into the stable before you hose them down and make sure to give them blankets tonight."

"But dad… Mom was so cool."

"I'm sure your mother can tell me all about it without you two."

This time it was Emma's turn to object, "But dad you know we can't unhitch the horses by ourselves. You've told us we couldn't do it by ourselves."

"And you won't. We'll all help unhitch the horses and unload the carts. Then you two will be responsible for the horses. That's the end of it."

The kids knew better than to argue.

Beth was silently cheering for the kids to prevail. The look her husband gave her told her it was futile. The problem was she wasn't a good storyteller. Her husband was. Since they had begun dating fifteen years ago, she couldn't keep anything from her husband. He saw the story in his head and always realized where the gaps were.

It didn't take but a minute to unhitch the horses. They left the carts where they were and the kids left for the stable with the horses. The adults stood next to the carts.

"So what's the story?" This time the question came from Saun Lawter.

His wife Lora, responded; "I have no idea."

So it was John's turn. "Beth?"

"Could we please go inside? Its gotten cold out here."

They turned and went into the Turner's house. It was a different style than the Lawter's. It had a porch that went around three quarters of the house. The ground floor was all stone and the second floor was made of hardy board. At its corner was the ranger's tower.

They rarely kept both houses heated. Tonight it was the Tuckers. As they entered the house, a large fire place in the living room was filled with a warm orange fire. Everyone sat down on the couches… and looked at Beth for an answer.

"I made a mistake. Potentially it was a very big mistake. I don't know what to do about it."

"What exactly happened?"

Beth told the story but glanced over several parts. The oversights weren't intentional. Most of the incident was still a blur. She tried to go back and fill in the blanks.

"I don't know why I snapped on Bill. It just seemed like such bullshit. Yesterday I had to kill a man. We found a child who was raped, tortured and tied out as bait. And Bill just became the symbol of all the people who's bullshit let it happen and continue to let it happen. Not because of what they do, but because of what they refuse to do."

"And Gray?"

"Mr. BS himself. I knew he was right there and I was on a roll. On the bright side, at least I didn't shoot him." Beth's smile was weak and forced.

"I don't know that it wouldn't have simplified things. So now we have real charges they could jail you for. At the least Gray will want you exiled. At worst left in jail."

It was Saun's turn to step in. "You know what we're going to have to do."

John answered, "I don't want to do that yet."

Lora spoke up, "We could handle exile to the farms just fine. We don't need the town."

The discussion continued. "But they need us. Like it or not we're keeping a lot of the town alive."

"I just never thought it would get to this point."

"I did but just not so soon."

"Well that's my fault. I should have kept my mouth shut."

"Don't even worry about that. If it wasn't you, it would have been one of us. We've been on a collision course for a while. Gray Anderson's election did more to cause this than you did."

"You know what we're talking about here. If these were normal times it would be called a coup."

"No it wouldn't. It would be called business. One dealer can give the people what they want and need. The other can't. It's a natural migration. Its supply and demand."

"It's secession. That's what it really is and Gray won't stand for it."

"Maybe but right now we don't have a choice. We've found a way to help a lot of people. All we have to do is ignore Gray for a while."

"He may not let us."

"We'll just have to see."

"Beth you need to stay out of town. Its just bound to stir trouble. The rest of us need to stay low key."

"We need to go see Johnston tonight."

"And tomorrow we start hiring?"

"Yes."

"Yeah"

"I don't see an alternative."


End file.
